Waiting For Evan

This picture above is Evan at 28 weeks in utero... I e-mailed this sonogram picture, but wanted to include this amazing picture on the blog! This is a 4-D sonogram picture and we can't believe that this was Evan two months before he was born! What a miracle. It's so neat how he already looks so much like the little man that is with us now; a beautiful little boy (and he still loves having that left hand up by his face)... And now on with the blog!



So I'll warn you... this particular blog will probably be very long-winded and detailed, so only the truly bored need read. This entry is more for me and my journaling... so don't be surprised to get half-way done and be sick of it already. Ha! But here are a few of my thoughts as we awaited the arrival of Evan.

Evan was almost three weeks early, so I didn't get a chance to blog about Evan's wonderful baby showers and the wonderful ways that we celebrated Evan before he was even here! He was loved beyond measure the moment the test was positive!

So, just a little reflection... about 2 1/2 years ago Erick and I had "the talk" about whether or not we wanted anymore children. Well, we came to the conclusion that we were perfectly happy with a family of three... we felt very blessed and didn't really have that "urge" for another baby. We didn't want to have another child just because everyone says you should have more than one. And so what did we do - of course, we got rid of every baby item that we had been storing in the house (I mean, this stuff was taking up valuable closet space)! We had two garage sales, gave a bunch to friends and then donated the rest of our baby gear. We were done having kids! Or, so we thought...



Then a year passed and I honestly began to feel in my heart that we weren't done after all... I just pictured us with another member of our family. I even began to picture two boys growing older and having their own kids and us having these great family holidays... I honestly wanted lots more kids all of the sudden! And that feeling didn't go away; it only got stronger. Well, Erick was up for anything, so another child it was - or at least we'd give it the good ol' college try! We had actually thought about moving to a little bigger house where we could have a playroom... so we put our house on the market and decided we'd start trying for a baby in a few months. Talk about a life change! In February of 2007 we sold the house and found out we were pregnant! What an exciting and truly amazing time for our family.



It really was fun being pregnant again... the maternity clothes were so much cuter six years later. Hee hee! Pregnancy is just such a miracle - I mean, that you are growing an entire human being is just miraculous - truly the greatest gift from God. It's a concept that overwhelms my little brain; such a precious honor to be given a child - whether you birth a child or are blessed and generous enough to raise and care for a child that you did not bear. Having children just makes you feel purposeful, like you are carrying on God's plan for this world. We only hope that we will walk the path that God has chosen for us and raise Godly men in Preston and Evan. It just makes you want to have a whole bushel of kids. Just kidding... we are blessed with the two we have... we'll see what the future holds. But I really tried to enjoy every moment of the pregnancy, it does go by so fast. I already miss it. But I don't miss the heartburn or sleepless nights. I am actually getting way more sleep now with a newborn. Of course, I got as big as a house (as you can see)... a big, round, baby boy belly again.



So in May we found out we were having another boy and we were so happy - Preston would have a brother! So now, we really needed to start getting ready for a baby in the house and we had absolutely nothing! Preston was just about to turn six years old and we were literally starting all over again. Were we crazy? We were going back to sleepless nights, diapers, bottles, baby food, the terrible twos (and threes and fours I might add!)... but honestly, I was so elated and couldn't wait for it! And it is as wonderful as I could have ever imagined; having two boys is a pure joy. God is good.



So with nothing for this little man we were expecting, we had great friends that wanted to throw showers for us. The first shower we had was given by my four best girlfriends - Susan, Tasha, Sue and Kim... it was just for the girls. It was so fantastic having all my friends and family together to celebrate Evan's upcoming arrival! We got so many great things for him; everyone's generosity is truly appreciated. Our apartment is literally cram-packed with all sorts of fabulous baby gear for Evan. Thank you so much!





At the shower, I meant to take a moment to introduce all of the hostesses and tell everyone about our friendships, but it was a whirlwind and before I knew it people were having to say their good-byes. So, I'll take a moment now to introduce my four greatest friends who hosted my wonderful shower. All of these friends are so very important to me and I feel so lucky to know them all:


Pictured Above: Susan, Sue, ME and my belly and Tasha (Kim will be photo-shopped in!)

Susan: Susan is the sister that I never had, but have now. We have been friends for over 11 years now. We met while working together at a dental insurance company and were friends from the first moment we met. She was my Matron of Honor in our wedding, she is Preston and now Evan's God Mother and she has been there for us no matter what. I couldn't ask for a better friend. Before kids, we used to work out together, do dinner, do date nights with the husbands, and we have all sorts of traditions. Every year we do haunted houses together, go to First Monday in Canton, go see Christmas lights, try to go to the Fair, stroll Northpark during the holidays. Susan and her family are really our family. Whenever we get a chance to go out with Susan and her husband we always have the best time and just laugh about the silliest things - we affectionately call some of them "Susanisms". These days, we spend our time taking the kids on play dates and watching them grow up together. We still squeeze in a few date nights and girls nights though! Susan and I both got into scrapbooking last year, so we love going on scrapbook retreats whenever we can. We've taken vacations together - twice to Vegas with no kids and then to Florida with the kiddos. Together, Susan and I did the 3-Day Walk for breast cancer last year; I can always talk her into my crazy ideas! She is the one person (besides Erick) that I can truly be myself around and I am always completely honest with her and lean on her for just about everything. Susan is my best friend and I wouldn't trade her for anything. We love you, Aunt Susan.

Tasha: Tasha and I actually met through our husbands. Erick and Tasha's husband (Travis) were roommates down in College Station. So, I actually knew Tasha's husband before she did! But Tasha and I met 8 or 9 years ago. Then we both started building houses in Frisco and joined the same church and started forming our own traditions. We both found out we were pregnant with our first children within weeks of each other, so we bonded being pregnant together. Preston and her oldest, Mason, are just five weeks apart and have always been great buddies. Tasha actually kept Preston when he was young while I worked part-time. Tasha is an amazing Godly mother and wife and she is always going out of her way to do things for you. She is also the person that got me into scrapbooking and I have since become addicted! She is my scrapbooking buddy and we also go to retreats and shop for goodies together as much as we can. We take our boys on all sorts of playdates together - you name the play place and we've been there together. She and I are always up for taking the boys somewhere fun... we actually all went to DisneyWorld together this past Spring. We still go to church together and have lunch afterwards every Sunday. Tasha and I confide in each other for so many things and we have a really special friendship that I know we'll have forever. Thank you for everything, Aunt Tasha.

Sue: Well, Sue and I met through a MOMs group when our oldest were born... so six years now. Wow, it seems like yesterday sometimes. Her oldest, Avery, and Preston have been such great friends and have truly grown up together - I'd probably consider Avery Preston's first best friend. They would take turns spending the night at eachother's houses and we consider her one of the family and tote her around for all sorts of fun stuff - their favorite is Chuck E. Cheese. I just can't say enough positive things about Sue - she is the kind of person that you aspire to be like, really. She is so kind and generous and would just do anything for you. She is also the busiest woman that I know. She works full-time as a Nurse Practitioner and has 3 girls - ages 1, 4 and 6. She lives on literally 3 hours of sleep every night and is a religious runner. She is so very smart, which sometimes makes me bug her with silly medical questions - but she is always happy to answer them! Sue does so much for her family - both immediate and extended. She is always planning some great adventure or party for someone. She honestly puts other people first. Preston just adores Sue and her husband, Eric. They are such great people - we don't spend nearly enough time with them. But we do have our MOMs night tradition still going strong... once a month we get together for pedicures, dinner and a movie or shopping. It's a great night away to catch up. I hope that 30 years from now we'll all still be here in Frisco and be able to say that our kids have literally known each other since birth and are all still good friends. I know that Sue is my friend for life.

Kim: I also met Kim in the MOMs group when Preston was born. Kim, Sue and I have become great friends over the last six years and our kids genuinely love each other and we have all spent lots of great times together. Kim is my creative genius girlfriend. She is always creating some masterpiece - her specialty is decorating. She is always re-creating rooms in her gorgeous house and a few years ago started her own decorating business. In fact, she and I have partnered on a couple of jobs and had a great time being creative and spending time together. Kim moves at the speed of light and always has a full plate. She is a hairstylist and decorator by profession and has two beautiful boys - ages 6 and 3. Kim really loves life and is so much fun to be around. Kim is a shopaholic like me and we're always calling each other about great "finds". There is nothing fake about Kim, she is simply herself and great. She makes you feel like a better person because she tells you how great you are everytime you see her. She has such a contagious personality and is there for you no matter what. I know that I could call Kim at anytime with anything. She even sees movies with me that I know she doesn't want to see! Hee hee! She is one in a billion and I don't ever want to know life without her.

So, I have great friends and my friends are definitely my family. And although I didn't grow up with a stable immediate family, I will say that there have been family members that have always been there for me and I was so honored that they were at the shower - pictured below: My Aunt Linda, cousins Tiffany and Erika and second cousin, Chandler. These ladies are so very special to me and I enjoy every moment I get to spend with them. I was also so extremely happy that my foster mother, Glenda (Mamaw), was there. I honestly think of her as my mother and I would not be where I am today without she and her husband. They are my heroes. And though she's not pictured, my favorite person growing up was my cousin, Carisa. She and I would spend summers together goofing off - I have so many memories, including watching "Grease" a few thousand times and dancing to the "Thriller" video just as many times. I loved seeing her at the shower. Thank you all for coming and making the day so special.



All of my friends, thank you. Thank you for the gifts. Thank you for being my friends. Thank you for your prayers, the meals, the calls, the e-mails. Thank you for all the wonderful times we've shared and the times we have yet to share with each other. Thank you for everything. You are all so special to me. If I had the time, I'd write about each and everyone of you in this blog! I know that you will all play a special part in Evan and Preston's lives. We love you.

Well, I did say we had two showers, didn't I? And the second shower was just as special and thrown by Daddy's friends... his office! The girls in his office were so very, very sweet to host a shower for Evan. It really meant so much to us that they would go out of their way and plan such a party. We had another great pirate-themed shower (Evan's room theme) and of course, were showered with great gifts, food and friends. And this shower was extra special because Preston came to this one and got to share in the celebration of his little brother... and of course, they all showered him with big brother presents. He's loving this big brother thing so far! Thank you GPP for the awesome shower and all of your continuous support and love for our family. I love hearing about all of you everyday when Erick comes home (we do get to see him on occasion when the tax seasons are over). Ha!



Well, you definitely deserve a special thank you, "true friend" award if you made it through this blog entry. My mouth (fingers) runneth over! Much love to all!

Welcome Home, Evan

Well, we've been home for a little over a week now. I am hoping that time will slow down and Evan won't grow another ounce. They are only this small for such a short amount of time - you just want to hug and kiss on them all day. There is nothing much sweeter than the smell of a little baby. He is just a little cuddle bug and loves it when you talk to him. He is very easy going and very easy to please (oh, please continue with this one). He is very alert and just grins all the time... I know it's just gas, but still cute. Hee hee.

He is such a cutie pie and just so much fun to stare at... he makes the cutest little faces and sounds. And he looks so much like Preston as an infant, it's really remarkable. There are pictures that I have of Preston that look just like Evan right now. You'll definitely be able to tell they're brothers. I'll have to mark the pictures for future reference.

Evan is doing so amazingly well. He really doesn't fuss about much of anything - except maybe an occasional argument with a diaper change. Like his brother - he'd rather just sit in the mess than be bothered with a clean diaper. He wasn't too happy for his first bath, but now he's starting to enjoy the warmness of the water... oh yes, he enjoys it so much that it seems to be a great time to "relieve" ourself. And the diaper change is a great time for this too - as all of you parents of boys can remember I'm sure... once the cold air hits it - you're in for it. Ha.

He is sleeping in at least 3 hour stretches at night, but he did a 5 hour stretch the other night... oh, it was nice. Although I must say that I was sleeping so horribly at the end of my pregnancy that the 3 hour stretches are heaven because they are still solid sleep. I think I'm so much more relaxed with the second little one - I don't find myself waking up for every little peep... just the big peeps. And he literally wakes up to eat and then goes right back to sleep. He loves eating and is a burping machine. I'm sure he'll be a chunky monkey very soon. He loves being swaddled, but he insists on having his left arm loose... the same hand that we saw by his face in his 28-week sonogram. We have to keep little mittens on him all day because he likes scratching that cute little face.

We've had a couple (okay, three) photo sessions already (in addition to my constant snapping of the camera). It's so great that photographers will come to your house to get those teenie weenie baby shots. I'll post some of those pictures soon. But we did take Evan for his first outing this week... for what, photos of course. We went to Stonebriar Mall and got some really sweet pictures done and then strolled around the mall for a little bit. We're waiting a few more days before we take him to church or have him around big crowds... but it won't be long before we're toting him around everywhere. Oh, and we did have to make a trip to the pumpkin patch this week too... there's no way that I could let his first Halloween go by without a ton of pumpkin pictures. And soon we will try on our Halloween costumes (yes, there is more than one). We'll fill up a flash card for these pictures I'm sure. One of Evan's costumes is a Superbaby costume... then we've got Preston as Superman and the dogs have their "super" costumes too. We'll see if we can get that picture... oh, Dad is so excited he can hardly stand it... right.

Since the October 15th deadline is over, Erick has been able to take off a couple of days this week. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with Daddy. And even though I have been up and running around since we got home from the hospital - Daddy has been really great about taking Preston to school and helping out so much. Thank you, Daddy. And Preston is such a good helper and very proud big brother. He thinks Evan is just adorable and says he's so glad we have a little baby. When Evan is sleeping, he's constantly going in and checking on him.

Well, that's our first few days at home... pretty uneventful, but that's a good thing. Thank you to all of our wonderful friends who have called and e-mailed and come by to visit. And thank you so much for the wonderful meals, gifts and cards that we've received. You have no idea how much this means to our family. Even though I feel guilty for taking the meals, we have thoroughly enjoyed them - thank you.

As of today, we are still in search of a nickname for Evan. In our family, we are rarely called by our actual names... so it's kind of weird actually calling him Evan. We're sure a good nickname will pop into our heads soon.

I will post again soon about our little family and hopefully get some birth announcements out soon too. Love to all.

Introducing Evan Wilson...

October 8, 2007 at 9:47am... Evan arrives.

We can't believe he is finally here. It is so weird to look at a little person and realize that just minutes ago they were wadded up in a ball inside of you. What a wonderful miracle and gift from our Lord and Savior. This is truly one of the most wonderful times of our lives... we feel very blessed that we have been honored to welcome this new little man, Evan Wilson Cutler, into our family. We hope that we will make him proud, as we are already so proud of him.



Well, we were wondering how he would make his way into this big world. He was due on October 26th, but we knew we would meet him sooner. First, the little guy wouldn't turn around and we thought for sure we were going to have a c-section on the 17th, but then at almost 35 weeks he flipped himself around (well, with the help of a special herb from the doctor; which is definitely a funny story within itself) ...But whoo hoo he was turned around. But then he was measuring really big and we still thought maybe c-section, but definitely we'd have to induce him even earlier on the 10th to be sure Mommy could get him out... Oh, but as we knew he would... Evan has a mind of his own and he decided to come on his own time two days before my scheduled induction. (Yes, of course he decided to come before Erick's huge October 15th tax extension deadline. Nothing like giving Daddy a few gray hairs early on.)



Early on Monday morning, October 8th, my water broke while I was sleeping (it took me about 10 seconds to realize what had happened). I looked at the alarm clock and it was 4:47am and we were having Evan today - yippee. What a surreal moment. I just barely said to Erick, "my water broke", and he was up and running around; a cute Dad moment. I was of course set to pack my bag the next day, so we just grabbed what we needed and took off. Honestly, as long as I had my camera, there was nothing else that I needed... but I must have every necessary photo for scrapbooking you know. Of course, there have already been several moments where I have smacked myself for not taking a picture.



My OBGYN had actually been out of town all weekend, so we were so happy that Evan waited for him to BARELY get back into town. Funny enough, we had said to ourselves Sunday night, "it sure would be great if he came tomorrow on his own"... we had no idea he was listening (we hope this listening trend will continue throughout his life; doubtful). So we arrived at the hospital about 5:30am and they confirmed that my water had indeed broken... a fact that I was pretty sure of, I haven't had an accident in a few years. Hee hee. Anyway, I was already at 4cm when I arrived so labor moved along pretty quickly. I think I got my epidural around 8:30am and quickly moved to a 7cm, then 9cm and they were calling the doctor to come deliver. The doctor arrived at about 9:35am and Evan was here at 9:47am. He was ready to come and came out with very little help from me.



We were pretty sure that he was ready to come out - even though I was only 37 weeks and 3 days pregnant... but he was "done cooking". He came out very content and perfect. He weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long (maybe he'll be a tall guy like his older brother). We were very glad that he wasn't the 9 lbs. they suspected.



It was a very special time waiting on Evan to come. Erick, Preston and I headed to the hospital together at the crack of dawn. Preston wasn't sure if it was okay to miss school, but we convinced him that this was a good enough reason to miss a day of school. We called my best friend Susan right before we left home and she was there by 6:00am to wait with us and help with Preston at the hospital. We all waited together for Evan to make his way out... we wondered how long it would be. It was really important to me that Preston was there for his brother's arrival. Even though I knew he would have to wait outside with his Aunt Susan during actual delivery, he got to be there for the rest of the labor and I hope it's something that he will remember as a special moment in his life. He was so patient and such a big brother. I will say that has been a great advantage of having my two sons six years apart... Preston has been a part of everything and he has understood about his brother on the way. He was there when I told Daddy I was pregnant, he went to just about every pre-natal appointment, every sonogram, felt Evan move around inside of me and anxiously asked every day when Evan was coming and how big he was that day. He prayed for him, that God would help him grow every night. He was so excited to meet his "sweet Little Evan" and to "finally be a big brother"... Preston's words. I know that we have lots of great adventures ahead of us with our Cutler boys. We love them both so much and can't wait to watch them grow together and love each other.

Thank you to all of our family and friends for their thoughts and prayers. They were heard and we are so blessed and fortunate. We know that you will each touch Evan's life in your own special way and we are looking forward to introducing him to all of you! And thank you to so many of you who came to visit us at the hospital. It is truly overwhelming that you would take that time to spend with us. We love you all. And thank you especially to Preston and Evan's Aunt Susan - we could not have done it without you. Thank you for always loving us and ALWAYS being there for us. We can't imagine our lives without you and your family.

And a huge thank you to Dr. Jacoby, who delivered Preston and Evan. What an incredible doctor to have for such important times in our lives. I am so glad we found you! You've always made everything so easy and stress-free. And you've delivered us two healthy baby boys! We trust you so much and we can't thank you nearly enough for all the great care!

I will post again soon about our first days at home... but I wanted to get these few "first pics" up for everyone.

P.S. This last picture is Evan with his namesake, Wilson Manuel, who is affectionately known as "Papaw". Papaw is truly like a second father to me and is a wonderful Godly man. I pray that Evan will learn from him and come to know Jesus and wonderful examples of His love at a very young age.

Another Tooth - GONE!

What an exciting day! We finally lost this front tooth!! It had been loose for quite a while and REALLY loose for a couple of days. Erick tried to pull it on Monday night, but it wouldn't quite come out - and then Tuesday afternoon it just fell out by itself on the way home from school. Preston was SO happy! He couldn't wait to tell Dad and to leave it under his pillow for The Tooth Fairy! This is our third baby tooth gone - he lost his two bottom teeth late last year. But this was a big one - and the most expensive too at $5.00 from The Tooth Fairy! Oh, yes, we are excited to spend our tooth money. What a cute snaggletooth!

Preston at 6 Years Old

Here is Preston's "birthday" photo shoot. When they're babies you take them to get pictures all the time - but nowadays we just make sure to get a few professional photos to commemerate turning another year older! But we do have a couple of fun traditions with our birthday photo shoot. The first is we always get our picture taken in the same Texas A&M football jersey. When he was a baby of course it swallowed him - and now it's starting to fit him! (sniffle...) We also get his picture made in his Halloween costume. Well, this year he wants to be Darth Vader... and Darth just doesn't work for pictures (he wears a helmet). So.... mom decided to dress him up in HER costume of choice this year for pictures... Captain Jack Sparrow. Preston looked pretty cute and loved being dressed up so much that he wanted to walk around the mall in the full costume all evening. He got so many looks and smiles... he would just smile and say "those are my fans". Ha! So you'd think - all this attention - he's going to want to be Jack Sparrow now and I won't have to buy the Darth costume.... uh no, when I asked he said he undoubtedly still wanted to be Lord Vader. I'd like to think this Star Wars phase is going to end soon... but then I know how much Erick still enjoys it at 33!

I am so very proud of Preston and the big boy that he is becoming every day. He is such a compassionate and caring person. He is very nurturing and always wants to take care of people when they are sick or hurt. He loves animals and wants to learn everything about them. He is always so sweet to compliment everyone and make them feel good; he is definitely a people pleaser. He is also a total goofball and clown. He will do absolutely anything for a laugh and loves to laugh with others. He and his Dad will get themselves laughing for just about anything, or rather, just about nothing. Preston is a great friend and will make a new friend anywhere we go... granted, he won't have any idea of their name, but they are his friend. Ha! He loves experiencing new things and is always up for anything. He is full of questions and loves to learn. And I have to say, he is definitely a very talented artist and will sit and draw for hours. Who knows what he'll choose to be when he grows up, but we're sure it will be great. We love you very much, Preston. Happy 6th birthday, big boy!

Our Little Pumpkin On The Way!

Well, I bet none of you expected (or wanted) to see my big buddha belly when you opened up this post! I should have put a disclaimer at the beginning - sorry! Hey - it's the price you pay for associating with us!

What can I say - we were sitting around today after church and had talked about doing this and just got the wild hair and did it! Erick was very proud of his handywork (he is the pumpkin painter). He was quite the skilled stomach artist - even with Evan kicking his pencil a couple of times! And Preston thought it was pretty funny and that my belly did indeed look like a big pumpkin.

All of us, but especially mom and dad love Halloween; it is our favorite holiday... all in good fun, of course - but we do really get into it every year. We are pretty excited about having an October baby - it's such a great month.

I know it's not quite even October yet... but I didn't want to put you all through the horror of an even bigger buddha belly in the few weeks to come! This was obscene enough. Just imagine me walking through our apartment complex with a big pumpkin painted on my belly... I'll leave you with that.

We're so excited about meeting "our little pumpkin" next month... we're already prepared to celebrate his first Halloween with a mere 4 costumes... how is a mother expected to decide these such important things!

Love to all!

Game On!

Well, Preston's 4th soccer season has officially begun! All Summer he asked, "when is soccer starting again?"... and it's finally here!

Preston loves anything that involves running and being active and being OUTSIDE! We hope that he'll always enjoy sports; he seems to be quite athleticly-inclined.

For the past three seasons he has played with the Frisco Bulls and absolutely loved it. But unfortunately, his coaches decided to retire in the Spring, and so Preston was put in the "draft" and got assigned to another great team for this Fall - The Vipers! We've only had a couple of practices, but his coach seems really great and the kids all enjoy playing. And as you can see from the pictures - they enjoy playing soccer as well as goofing off! They were playing a scrimmage game and picking each other up after each goal like the pros do... then ended up in a dog pile as the coach just shook his head.

Usually Preston will play soccer and tee ball during the Fall and Spring, but with the baby on the way and the new adventures of Kindergarten - we told him that he needed to choose between soccer and tee ball. He overwhelmingly chose soccer.... he likes the constant action!

We're excited to go to all the games starting soon - Go Vipers!

Preston's 6th Birthday!

WOW! Our little man is 6 years old! This was probably the most excited he's ever been about a birthday... he knew it was coming and he was so proud of turning another year older.

We had his birthday party a couple of weeks early so it wouldn't be so close to the start of school. We celebrated at Pump It Up where the kids ran wild for the afternoon. As you can see from the pictures, they thoroughly enjoyed tackling the Daddies. Preston decided he wanted a dinosaur party this year, so we had a dinosaur cake, dinosaur goodies and Preston picked out a dinosaur shirt for the occasion. Of course, he wouldn't be a 6 year old if he didn't admit that his favorite part of the day was "opening presents"! He got tons of great stuff; Preston is so blessed with so many friends who love him. This year he's especially into Star Wars, dinosaurs and pirates. He also loves playing his Game Cube; and he got a couple of new games to play.

On his actual birthday Mommy went up and had lunch at his school. It was so weird seeing him walk around in that seemingly huge school. He was in the cafeteria eating like a big kid with all of his friends. The Kindergarten classes eat lunch at 10:30am... so we actually had breakfast rather than lunch; Mommy picked up sausage biscuits and apple pies from McDonald's. They don't serve Happy Meals that early!

After school we spent the evening doing more of his favorite things... including soccer practice, dinner out, and presents from Mommy and Daddy. And then we even got to hang out with one of his best friends, Avery, that wasn't able to make his party... he was so excited; we thought they were going to choke each other hanging all over one another.

Needless to say, he's already planning his 7th birthday! Thank you again to all of our wonderful friends who helped us celebrate this milestone.



This last pic is our weekend birthday celebration at Rainforest Cafe - one of Preston's absolute favorites!

Preston Starts Kindergarten

Preston started Kindergarten today! He was so excited to be a big Kindergartner.

He has to be at school at 7:50am, which means we have to leave our house by 7:25am to make it up to Prosper. That is quite a change for us late sleepers! It was actually still dark when I woke him up Monday morning. But he was eager to get up and have his first day.

When I picked him up from school he said his day was "awesome" and his teacher was "perfectly awesome". His favorite part of the day was "eating in the cafeteria". He said they did crafts, had P.E., ate lunch, played outside for recess and then he was very excited that they went to the computer lab! He said they are learning all about the computers this week before they get to work on them. They are actually teaching them about the hard drive, etc... boy, has Kindergarten changed!

After school we went and got a snow cone from the famous Snow Cone Lady and then we went and had dinner at Preston's favorite restaurant, "the pancake restaurant", (IHOP).

Preston was absolutely exhausted after the long day, but said "Kindergarten rocks" and he absolutely loves it.

Our Summer - AUGUST

Well, since I am finally jumping on the bandwagon and doing a family blog... I thought I would just re-cap our Summer, beginning with the last month - August.

As August was approaching, it was really kind of sad because I knew it would be the last few weeks I would have Preston all to myself every day. I know next Summer will be here before we know it, but it was so weird knowing that he would be gone every day during the week at Kindergarten starting soon. Honestly, if Evan weren't on the way, I don't know what I would do with myself! Your life changes so completely with kids; you just can't remember what you ever did with your time before...

So here are a few moments from our last month of Summer!



Preston's favorite place to go is the Dallas World Aquarium. We picked up his cousin, Skylar (she's really my best friend's daughter, but they are our family). They enjoyed seeing all the animals and then eating at the Spaghetti Warehouse (in the train of course) afterwards.

Another great place for the Summer is Jack Carter Pool. If you've never been, it's the best $2 you'll ever spend! I think we went 4-5 times over the Summer. This picture is with some of our good friends from church - David, Gavin and Keaton.



And one of our August traditions is going to the last Friday home game for the Frisco Roughriders. It always falls right around Preston's birthday; this was our fourth year to go. We normally go with our good friends, The Bradleys, but unfortunately they were sick and couldn't make it. Preston was disappointed, but still had a great time... there's nothing better than a ballpark hot dog! And Preston even got to shake Deuce's hand (the team mascot). What a beautiful ballpark - if you haven't been, please make it a date!



Preston loves helping in the kitchen, so we did a couple of "kitchen" activities this Summer. First, we went to a cupcake decorating class at JoAnn's. They got to decorate a cupcake "inch worm". Preston just loved it. Mommy actually took a cake decorating class earlier this Summer and he kept saying he wanted to decorate cakes, so when I found out they had kid's classes he was so excited! Then, we also went to this new place called Young Chefs Academy, where they have a group of kids actually make a dish in the kitchen... Preston got to make Mississippi Mud Pie and a punch called "Pirate's Potion". It was really a fun place and their dishes turned out yummy!



You are so much fun to hang out with Preston... I couldn't ask for a better kid!

P.S. And even though I was 8 months pregnant... when I found out that my favorite band in the whole world was coming in concert - Third Eye Blind... I just had to go! I think I've seen them four times in concert, I just love them! Erick and I had a great time. I wanted so badly to go backstage and meet them - I mean I had to be the only 8-month pregnant lady there, right?!?

Our Summer - JULY

Well, heading back through our Summer.... here's a recap of July.



For the past two Summers we have bought season tickets to Cool Concert Thursdays at the Dallas Arboretum. It is such a wonderful time... we pack a picnic dinner and enjoy some of the best cover bands around. And we are always sure to make it on the Thursday performance of my personal favorite cover band - Le Freak! Play that funky music white boys! hee hee! We do love going to the Arboretum; it's a great, relaxing day... and of course, the best photo spot!



One of Preston's highlights of the Summer was going out to the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History where they had a Star Wars exhibit this Summer! He was beyond mesmerized to see all the Star Wars movie props and displas. He loves everything about Star Wars these days... he's already told us that he wants to be Darth Vader for Halloween!



And so we wouldn't go the whole Summer without playing soccer, we were sure to make it to soccer camp! We went last Summer too... it's this great camp called British Challengers Soccer Camp and they have a blast with the kids. They are all Brits, young guys, and they play these awesome games with them! The kids are learning great skills, even though they think they're just goofing around. And every day they have a funny theme - like crazy hair day!



We also had lots of birthday parties this Summer... just about all of Preston's friends have Summer birthdays, so it keeps our weekends busy. We went to parties at water parks, bounce houses and one of the neatest was at the Frontier of Flight Museum. I think Daddy enjoyed this one even more than Preston! They have all these old war planes, jets, helicopters, and even one of the Apollo space capsules. It really is amazing. Erick and Preston love watching all those documentary shows on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel - I see many years of bonding to come! Too bad Mom would rather watch a reality or game show!



Oh, and of course we had to celebrate the 4th of July with a fireworks show! We watched the Kaboomtown fireworks with a bunch of friends from church. The kids enjoyed playing beforehand, glowsticks, lots of snacks and watching an airplane show overhead. What a great time with friends and mosquitos! hee hee!